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Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

On one hand, if it prevents a war with NK, I am all for the concept of such a meeting. My fear all along has been not that NK would launch a nuke missile, but that they'd sell a nuke to non-state bad actors like ISIS or Hezbollah. So if our current president can thwart this from occurring, then by golly good on him.

On the other hand, this could be the wily NKoreans baiting a trap to leave our dunce of a president twisting slowly in the wind, and when THAT happens, for him to lash out even more vehemently against NK.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

We shall see indeed. Talking is better than not talking, for sure. I do wish that we were not relying on the professionalism of the South Koreans and North Koreans, and instead had a well staffed and professional State Department doing due diligence.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Originally Posted by TomF

We shall see indeed. Talking is better than not talking, for sure. I do wish that we were not relying on the professionalism of the South Koreans and North Koreans, and instead had a well staffed and professional State Department doing due diligence.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

NK cut a deal with Clinton, then Bush, then Obama... none of which did Nk keep. And those folks didn't treat the negotiations like something to do on the fly, unprepared.

You really think that Trump has a grand chance of pulling this out of his own ear, surprising even his own people with the news, and get a different result?

I would like it, but I sure would lay my money on the opposite. On Trump being played, and waving about a worthless bit of paper which allows Kim to keep his nukes with no verification, and allows Trump to proclaim he had a victory and averted a certain nuclear exchange. It will be a fake win, from a manufactured crisis. And Kim will keep what he wanted - a nuke deterrent just strong enough to give any attacker a very bloody nose, though not strong enough to win a full on nuke war.

As I said months ago, Nk wants what France and Israel have.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

NK cut a deal with Clinton, then Bush, then Obama... none of which did Nk keep. And those folks didn't treat the negotiations like something to do on the fly, unprepared.

You really think that Trump has a grand chance of pulling this out of his own ear, surprising even his own people with the news, and get a different result?

I would like it, but I sure would lay my money on the opposite. On Trump being played, and waving about a worthless bit of paper which allows Kim to keep his nukes with no verification, and allows Trump to proclaim he had a victory and averted a certain nuclear exchange. It will be a fake win, from a manufactured crisis. And Kim will keep what he wanted - a nuke deterrent just strong enough to give any attacker a very bloody nose, though not strong enough to win a full on nuke war.

As I said months ago, Nk wants what France and Israel have.

You nailed it. I'm sure the folks over at FOX are claiming this to be the biggest, bestest thing ever and that Trump is a master negotiator.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

And Kim will keep what he wanted - a nuke deterrent just strong enough to give any attacker a very bloody nose, though not strong enough to win a full on nuke war.

And this is exactly right. Nukes are useless for fighting a war. What, the North Koreans are going to nuke Seoul? San Francisco? You really think North Korea would launch a first strike against either the US or a US ally, a country with enough nukes to turn all of North Korea into a smoking crater? Right, Elmer, pull the other one. Kim III is vile, conscienceless, and tyrannical, but not suicidal, nor particularly stupid, and has a fairly clear idea of his self-interest - which does not include getting incinerated in a retaliatory strike after using a nuke.. What nuclear weapons are very good for is to keep other countries from messing with you; the cost of attacking a nuclear-armed country is just too high. That is precisely what Mr. Kim wants, and now has. OK. So what?

Last edited by Keith Wilson; 03-08-2018 at 11:12 PM.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations,
for nature cannot be fooled."

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Better get Don King to help with the arrangements! In this corner we have Little Rocket-man and this corner we have Bigger Button Don. Their meeting should be quite the spectacle. Both Donald and Kim need something positive to come out of this to help them on their home fronts. There will be a little win for each and they will milk it for as long as they have to. China will love it too, because the net result is a diminished US presence/importance in Asia.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

The free trading "progressives" suddenly couldn't be unhappier about the possibility of engagement and diplomacy. What a discouraging lot, hoping for failure, a more dangerous world the easy price of their Trump-hate.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Its a great development.
Seeing NK and SK talking constructively is really positive.

In the mean time, Russia is killing spies in western countries undeterred, it is bragging about being invincible against the USA nuke threat, democracy is falling apart at the seams in Turkey, Poland and elsewhere, because of Trump Iran can go back to making nuclear weapons, NK continues to build and test, and the USA leadership has NO response.

Trump doesn't understand his leverage. He has no idea how to use his influence.

So pretty smart of NK to pick now to engage in chit chat - Trump is the least likely world leader to make life hard for them. He'll be utterly concerned about projecting himself as a deal maker, and lauding himself as the first US president to meet with an NK leader. Anything could come out of this - and the NK leadership have already shown themselves to be smarter than POTUS simply by picking him.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Originally Posted by gypsie

Its a great development.
Seeing NK and SK talking constructively is really positive.

In the mean time, Russia is killing spies in western countries undeterred, it is bragging about being invincible against the USA nuke threat, democracy is falling apart at the seams in Turkey, Poland and elsewhere, because of Trump Iran can go back to making nuclear weapons, NK continues to build and test, and the USA leadership has NO response.

Trump doesn't understand his leverage. He has no idea how to use his influence.

So pretty smart of NK to pick now to engage in chit chat - Trump is the least likely world leader to make life hard for them. He'll be utterly concerned about projecting himself as a deal maker, and lauding himself as the first US president to meet with an NK leader. Anything could come out of this - and the NK leadership have already shown themselves to be smarter than POTUS simply by picking him.

Mostly what he said.
Neither USA major party could have engineered this or their state departments allowed it, Donald belongs to neither, in fact the GOP belongs to him. He's an independent, he does his own thing, and he's about to do it. I wonder what presidential security arrangements might be negotiated?

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

Trump has to deliver to gain some credibility at home. While the added sanctions have helped get NK to the table, Turmp or any president would have enacted them. There were already many sanctions in place and the UN adopted the latest sanctions proposed by the Trump administration. So we can all give credit to Trump for doing what any other president and the UN would have done. In my opinion the genius here, and where credit is deserved, is South Korean President Moon Jae In. He negotiated the dialogue under difficult conditions and still has the dignity and humility to thank Trump and the Us for their role. Can you imagine Trump acting like that? When Moon Jae In was running for president last year, part of his platform was to engage with NK. He floated the idea of reunification and the idea of offering amnesty to North Korean military officers for their help. These are the guys in NK who protect Kim Jong Un. They heard him load and clear. And so did Kim Jong Un. This and the sanctions and China have all helped to get where we are today. I don't think Kim Jong Un is faking or stalling this time. I think he's in a tough spot and is smart enough to float the idea because he also know its good for him as well as for Trump's stature in the US/World to be part of a solution and he's willing to eat crow with Trumps Ego, albeit in a very limited way. If you read the words around the agreement and what Trump is actually saying, and he does sound a bit more diplomatic, and what Kim is saying, you will understand that the use of words in discussion of the agreement by those on all sides, are in fact part of an agreement. I believe this has been engineered by Moon Jae In to placate the positions of both NK and the US. Moon Jae In will get the Noble Peace Prize if this standoff ends in a clear and positive agreement. Step one will be a treaty to the Korean War, step 2 will be elimination of nuclear weapons on the peninsula, Step 3 will include family visitations and a staged business/economic development plan/execution, Step 4 - TBD. Then Moon Jae In will establish better relations with Japan and China - He's already engaged in this. And he will become a leader in NE Asia.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

I wonder if China would be so pleased with that scenario? It has suited them well to have a distraction in the area, and an effective limit to the rivalry that a unified Korea might offer. But the unification of east and west Germany will be seen as an economic picnic compared with the process on the Korean peninsula, if the agreements go that far. NK might be quite hard to hold together without the external enemy just over the river.

Re: Our current president to meet with Little Rocket Man

China's motivation is reduced US influence in the region, elimination of nuclear weapons or theft of them from NK and mass migration out of NK into China. Kim is delivering this. China is happy about this and will accept the potential future economic threat of a unified Korea.